Thalaimai Seyalagam Review: Strained Cliffhanger

If you are looking for an average political thriller with good performances, Thalamai Seyalagam may interest you, suggests Divya Nair.

Director Vasantha Balan, known for making films with a socio-political message, takes an ambitious leap with his latest Tamil-Telugu political thriller, Thalaimai Seyalagam.

The series begins with a strong narrative highlighting the class divide and crimes of oppression in rural Jharkhand.

An unidentified female, later known as Durga, who is held captive and tortured for stealing from a landlord, sensationally strikes back at her kidnappers and tries to escape.

Years later, the scene shifts to Chennai where popular Chief Minister Arunachalam (Kishore) is undergoing trial for alleged corruption charges.

The verdict will decide if Arunachalam goes to jail and end his political career.

But before that, the leader has to take charge of the chaos, plan the party's future, and pick the heir apparent.

The opponents and opportunists are many, each with ulterior motives, secretly trying to topple each other.

There is Amuthavalli (Remya Nambeesan), Arunachalam's cunning daughter whose ultimate aim is to take over the reins of the party.

There is Hariharan (Niroop Nandakumar), the quintessential trouble-maker son-in-law, who makes up for his lack of political wit and wisdom with his might and violence.

And there is the fearless Kotravai (Sriya Reddy), a former journalist who is Arunachalam's political advisor but functions more like the queen in a game of chess, safeguarding her master at every move.

In a parallel universe, while investigating the murder of an undercover cop in Chennai, Inspector Manikandan (Bharat) and the team trace the links back to a woman named Durga who is friends with Kotravai.

Another set of investigations for a distinctive pattern of killings is led by a crime branch officer Nawaz Khan (played by an overenthusiastic Aditya Menon who switches between Hindi and Tamil, as if he is still auditioning for the role).

These two teams of cops follow a trail that leads them to Jharkhand, Orissa, and Delhi where they uncover the story of two women Durga and Shakti, and their adventures of revolt and uprising.

What is Durga's connection with Shakti?

What happened to Durga after she was captured by the policemen?

Will Arunachalam succumb to pressure and go to jail or will Kotravai help him come clean?

With eight episodes of 30 minutes each, Thalaimai Seyalagam starts as a crafty thriller that is intriguing in bits, thanks to its cast, who keep you invested in the flow of events, often promising to get better and bigger.

But as the story progresses, the canvas gets too sketchy and dramatised. This not only limits the viewer's imagination but allows little scope for you to associate with the character's angst or concerns.

The police investigation and court proceeding sequences are equally gullible, not just disappointing but also disqualifying the effort of the lead actors like Shriya and the supporting cast of Santhana Bharathi and Y G Mahendran.

Then there are characters like Adithya Menon, who end up ruining your viewing pleasure with unnecessary show-off and commentary.

The social message, which is delayed, is too obvious and rushed in its impact.

Unlike Vasantha Balan's previous works like Veyyil or Angadi Theru, where the characters and storytelling are powerful enough to linger much after the movie ends, Thalaimai Seyalagam comes across as too commercial and logical in its packaging, narration and execution.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for an average political thriller with good performances, Thalamai Seyalagam may interest you.

But if you have seen the likes of Sengalam, which is far more engaging and entertaining, you would rather hope for a more promising sequel to salvage this strained cliffhanger.

Thalamai Seyalagam streams on ZEE5.